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What is a Dissociative Disorder?
Dissociation is a mental process where a person disconnects from their thoughts, feelings, memories, or sense of identity. While many people experience mild dissociation (like "spacing out" during a long drive), clinical Dissociative Disorders are severe, chronic conditions that drastically interfere with daily functioning.
These disorders are almost always rooted in severe, repetitive childhood trauma, such as physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. The developing brain uses dissociation as an extreme defense mechanism to compartmentalize and survive experiences that are too horrifying for the conscious mind to process at the time.
At Sunrise Human Care Services, we recognize that your symptoms were once brilliant survival strategies. Our goal is to provide a profoundly safe environment where those extreme defenses are no longer necessary, allowing you to integrate your experiences and live fully in the present.
Types of Dissociative Disorders We Treat
Dissociation exists on a spectrum. Our psychiatric providers are trained to accurately assess, diagnose, and treat the following conditions:
Depersonalization / Derealization
Feeling completely detached from your own body or mind (depersonalization) or feeling that the world around you is fake or dream-like (derealization).
Dissociative Amnesia
The inability to recall important personal information, usually related to a traumatic or stressful event, that goes far beyond normal forgetfulness.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
Formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder, DID is the most severe form of dissociation. It is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states (often called "alters" or "parts") that recurrently take control of the person's behavior.
Common Symptoms of DID:
- Significant gaps in memory regarding everyday events, personal information, and past trauma
- Feeling like an observer to your own speech and actions
- Hearing voices inside your head that have distinct identities or opinions
- Sudden, dramatic shifts in preferences, skills, or handwriting
- Finding items you bought but have no memory of purchasing
Treatment for DID is highly specialized. It requires a long-term commitment to therapy focusing on mapping the internal system, building internal communication, and slowly processing the trauma that fragmented the identity in the first place.
Our Phase-Oriented Treatment Approach
Treating complex trauma and dissociation requires a careful, highly structured approach. We follow the gold-standard, three-phase model of trauma treatment to ensure you are never overwhelmed:
- Phase 1: Safety and Stabilization. We spend significant time building a therapeutic alliance, teaching grounding techniques, managing co-occurring symptoms (like depression or panic attacks), and ensuring you are physically and emotionally safe in your daily life.
- Phase 2: Processing Trauma. Only when you have strong stabilization skills do we carefully begin to process the traumatic memories. We use therapies like EMDR or Trauma-Focused CBT, pacing the work to prevent re-traumatization.
- Phase 3: Integration and Reconnection. The final phase focuses on consolidating your sense of self (or increasing internal cooperation in DID) and re-engaging fully with relationships, work, and the world around you.
Trauma-Informed Care in Darby, PA
At Sunrise Human Care Services, we provide the specialized psychiatric support and intensive therapy required to heal from dissociative disorders. Located at 869 Main Street in Darby, we serve Delaware County with the utmost compassion and clinical rigor.
100% Medicaid Acceptance
We exclusively accept Medicaid to ensure highly specialized trauma care is accessible to those who need it most.
Communities We Serve
Holli O'Donnell, Licensed Mental Health Professional
Holli O'Donnell is a dedicated mental health professional at Sunrise Human Care Services, specializing in trauma-informed care and the treatment of dissociative disorders.
Last Updated: April 14, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Dissociation exists on a spectrum. While Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly called multiple personality disorder) involves distinct identity states, many people experience milder forms of dissociation like depersonalization (feeling detached from oneself) or derealization (feeling the world is unreal). All forms of dissociation involve some degree of disconnection from full awareness.
Treatment for dissociative disorders is typically longer-term, often lasting several years, especially for more complex presentations like Dissociative Identity Disorder. The pace of treatment is determined by the client's needs and readiness, focusing first on stabilization before addressing traumatic material.
There are no medications that specifically cure dissociation. However, psychiatric medications are highly effective in treating the severe anxiety, depression, or sleep disturbances that almost always accompany dissociative disorders. Therapy (such as EMDR or CBT) remains the primary treatment for the dissociation itself.
Dissociative disorders usually develop as a psychological response to severe trauma, particularly chronic physical, sexual, or emotional abuse during childhood. The dissociation serves as a survival mechanism, allowing the mind to detach from an overwhelmingly painful reality.
Start your recovery within 24 hours.
You shouldn't have to wait months for professional support. Our Darby clinical team is ready to respond to your request by the next business day. 100% confidential. Medicaid accepted.
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Mon - Fri, 9 AM - 5 PM